Mimio, raise your hand if you know what that is. And if you don’t, do you know it by its other names: the tv’s, flatpanels, or maybe the touchscreens. While basic, they do have a few names that they go by. After they replaced the projectors in our district, they have been the next step when it comes to tech in our schools. Earlier in the year, I interviewed some of our teachers about their thoughts on the flatpanels and I wanted to see if the opinions of the teachers have changed.

First, we are going to bring in Mr. Hesson. last time he said that he likes some of the things that it can do but others not, such as the speakers. He had issues pairing with the flatpanel. And that hasn’t changed; he still is not able to use the speakers even after bringing it up. For reference, Hesson was one of the first testers of the flat panels so he has had one for over a year by this point. And, even with all the time he said that he “[doesn’t] think it’s the most effective, still to this day” another one of his problems is the touch screen, saying that it is one of his least favorite parts. he said that people have looked into it, but nothing has fixed it yet. When asked if he would go back to the projector, he said yes one of his main reasons being the sound system. All in all, Hesson described his opinion of the flatpanels as “Still, Good intention, bad outcome”.

Next up, we are returning back to Mr. Simmons and his outlook on the whole situation. From the start, Simmons made it clear that his opinion has changed saying that “At first, I was skeptical, I wasn’t going to think I was going to like them because I liked the projectors, a lot. Um but my opinion has changed. I like the flat panels a lot more as I’ve gotten used to using them, and seen all they can do, I like them a lot more” One of his favorite parts was the built in programs and features that came with the flat panels. But, he did have some concerns he found that there are many tech issues and glitches calling out the cables as being inconsistent. When prompted with the idea of going back to the projectors he said “No I like this a lot better, I like the flatpanels a lot better” Simmons seems like he has just started to like the flatpanel more and more. I wonder if this trend will stick. 

Last but not least, we have Ms. Hutchinson, the elementary teacher from lake wilderness who I talked to last time, she started off by saying that “Yes… My opinion has changed. I don’t have as many of the issues that I did at the beginning of the year”. she said one of the main reasons was because “the Technology Department hardwired my panel, therefore making it more stable” which is good to hear. She also likes the clarity of the screen. But there are still some issues that Hutchinson did bring up saying that, “I still have issues with the annotations not always working properly, especially with our math curriculum” along with the fact that it sometimes randomly moves to the home screen. She said when it comes to the projector “I have to say that is a really difficult question to answer because they both have issues. However, I know that the flat panels are our only option, so I make the best of it” and her final remarks moved into where she could see improvement starting off saying “I would like to be able to have a computer that is dedicated to the flat panel as we did with the projectors so I can sign-in to sites and protect my sign-ins even when the kids are in the room… I would also love to be able to run music through the panel when you are using another tab. I would like it to be more stable and user friendly for substitutes”

Interesting thoughts on the matter: there are three distinct views on these flat panels here or at least that is how I see it. There is the positive Simmons who has learned to love the tech that was given to him and seen all the great things that it brings, we have Ms. Hutchinson who brings to the table a middle stance not disliking it but far from loving seeing it as the option they were given and learning to go with the flow. And then Mr. Hesson who seems to generally dislike the flat panel he seems to be able to understand the fact that they have their merits, but they are far from being perfect and have some ground to make before they are. Which seems very different from the first time that I looked at all of this. Most seemed, okay with it at the time, but it seems people’s opinions have started to polarize. Will opinions change again? for some of them, let’s hope it does.